Big Al

Big Al's Daily Angle: MLB and UEFA Champions League Previews and Odds - 09/18/2024

by Big Al Staff

Wednesday, Sep 18, 2024
The Wednesday sports card features MLB and UEFA Champions League action. 

Major League Baseball has 15 games on its schedule. The Chicago Cubs host the Oakland A’s at 2:20 p.m. ET. Justin Steele gets the ball for the Cubs to face Brady Basso for the A’s. Chicago is a -166 money-line favorite (all odds from DraftKings). The Arizona Diamondbacks travel to Colorado to play the Rockies at 3:10 p.m. ET. The Diamondbacks tap Eduardo Rodriguez to pitch against the Rockies’ Austin Gomber. Arizona is a -155 money-line road favorite with the total set at 11. The Los Angeles Angels play at home against the Chicago White Sox at 4:07 p.m. ET. Jack Kochanowicz gets the ball for the Angels to challenge a starting pitcher for the White Sox yet to be determined. 

The Baltimore Orioles are at home against the San Francisco Giants at 6:35 p.m. ET. The Orioles tap Dean Kremer to go against the Giants’ Hayden Birdsong. Baltimore is a -180 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8. Four more MLB games throw out the first pitch at 6:40 p.m. ET. San Diego hosts Houston with Dylan Cease taking the mound for the Padres to battle against Framber Valdez for the Astros. The Padres are a -112 money-line favorite with a total of 7. Los Angeles plays in Miami with the Dodgers turning to Landon Knack to take the ball to duel against the Marlins’ Ryan Weathers. The Dodgers are a -185 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 9. Cleveland plays at home against Minnesota with Tanner Bibee getting tapped to pitch for the Guardians to face Bailey Ober for the Twins. The Guardians are a -118 money-line favorite with a total of 7.5. Atlanta is in Cincinnati with the Braves turning to Spencer Schwellenbach to pitch against the Reds’ Jakob Junis. The Braves are a -155 money-line road favorite with an over/under of 8.5. The Tampa Bay Rays are at home against the Boston Red Sox at 6:50 p.m. ET. Ryan Pepiot takes the hill for the Rays to go against Tanner Houck for the Red Sox. Tampa Bay is a -120 money-line favorite with a total of 7.5. 

The New York Mets host the Washington Nationals at 7:10 p.m. ET. The Mets send out Jose Quintana to duel against the Nationals’ D.J. Herz. New York is a -175 money-line favorite with an over/under of 7.5. Two more MLB games start at 7:40 p.m. ET. Detroit visits Kansas City with Tarik Skubal getting his second to last start of the season to continue his case for the American League Cy Young award for the Tigers to battle against Alec Marsh for the Royals. The Tigers are a -148 money-line road favorite with a total of 7.5. Milwaukee plays at home against Philadelphia with the Brewers turning to Freddy Peralta to face the Phillies’ Aaron Nola. The Brewers are a -120 money-line favor with an over/under of 8. The St. Louis Cardinals are home against the Pittsburgh Pirates at 7:45 p.m. ET. Sonny Gray gets the ball for the Cardinals to pitch against Jake Woodford for the Pirates. St. Louis is a -198 money-line favorite with a total of 8. 

The Texas Rangers host the Toronto Blue Jays at 8:05 p.m. ET. The Rangers send out Cory Bradford to challenge the Blue Jays’ Bowden Francis. Texas is a -130 money-line favorite with an over/under of 8. The New York Yankees play in Seattle against the Mariners at 9:40 p.m. ET. Nestor Cortes, Jr. takes the mound for the Yankees to battle Bryce Miller for the Mariners. New York is a -120 money-line road favorite with a total of 7.5. 

Matchday 1 in the UEFA Champions League continues with six league phase matches. Two matches start at 12:45 PM ET. Bologna plays at home against Shakhtar Donetsk as a -0.5 goal-line favorite with an over/under of 2.5. Sparta Prague is at home against Salzburg as a -0.5 goal-line favorite with a total of 2.5.

Six matches conclude the UCL card at 3 PM ET. Borussia Dortmund is at Club Brugge on the CBS Sports Network as a -0.5 goal-line road favorite with an over/under of 2.5. Celtic hosts at home against Slovan Bratislava as a -1.5 goal-line favorite with a total of 3.5. Manchester City plays at home against Inter Milan as a -1.5 goal-line favorite with an over/under of 2.5. Paris Saint-Germain is at home against Girona as a -1.5 goal-line favorite with a total of 3.5. All eight Champions League matches are available on Paramount+.